No. 41: Art and Censorship in the Age of Social Media

In May, documents leaked to the Guardian offered an unprecedented glimpse into Facebook’s inner workings: How do they think about moderating a range of controversial subjects, from violence to pornography? But those in the art world were particularly interested in the handful of slides detailing the social media giant’s policy on nudity in works of art. Facebook and Instagram have long been criticized for removing artwork containing nudity, a practice many interpret as censorship. On this episode, we dive into social media’s new role as the gatekeeper of what we see—and why fixing this system may prove to be impossible.